HIDDEN IN LIQUID

“Hidden in Liquid” is a romantic time travel novel by debut author, Jane Maria. The story follows Marisa, a woman in her early forties, who, after the death of her husband, and her son leaving for college, finds that she is at a turning point in her life.

Taught at an early age by her father, Marisa grew up curious and intrigued about the magic and mystical realms that exist beyond what the human eye can see. Marisa always believed that the moon and the ocean, that she affectionately called MoonGlow and High Tide, were lovers. Marisa was not at all surprised when she felt compelled to buy a supposedly haunted house near the ocean – certainly, it was MoonGlow who drew her to the place. Marisa renovates the house and indeed realizes she was called to this place to begin a journey of a lifetime, as she experiences and connects all the joys and tragedies of the past and the present, to realize her place in the vast universe.

As a huge fan of romantic time travel, I was excited to read “Hidden in Liquid.” The author does a fine job of weaving together a unique celestial tale. I found the writing to be quite fluid and effortless, in that the author has a very distinctive voice that resonates clearly throughout the story.

One issue that took away from the story just a bit for me personally, was the repetition of certain phrases and telling of events. For instance, several sentences start off with, “As I have said…,” and “As I have mentioned before…,” followed by the re-telling of events or circumstances, such as the moon always appearing to Marisa in full phase, or how it came to be that Marisa took time off from work to buy and renovate her dream house on the beach and write a novel. As a reader, I do not need to be told things repeatedly before I catch the point. Of course, I realize this may not have been the intention, but rather a deliberate action in order to keep the flow of the text consistent.

Overall, however, I found “Hidden in Liquid” by Jane Maria to be a charming, unique story, full of adventure and emotion, with delightful, quirky, and off-the-wall characters, creative time-travel elements, and an enchanting setting.